06/01/2026
We just reached a major milestone in our family’s calendar.
The one that feels hard-fought every year. The one where you look around, exhale, and think: We made it. 🤗
May has a way of doing that. It’s a month full of endings and beginnings. School years wrapping up. Summer schedules taking shape. Graduations. Baseball games. Family gatherings. Plans being made. It can feel a little chaotic. But I’ve always loved that May also creates natural opportunities for connection.
Over the past few weeks, people stopped in looking for graduation gifts, treats for celebrations, and things to bring to backyard gatherings. In between purchases, we heard stories about sons and daughters, grandchildren, old friends, and celebrating meaningful milestones.
One visit felt especially meaningful.
Jan Arter’s family stopped by. Jan owned the beloved Red Oak in this building from 1970 to 1995. Her son was about the same age as ours is now when she opened the shop.
There’s something magical about that thought. A little boy running around this same building decades ago.
A mother building something she loved. A place that mattered enough for her family to come back and visit all these years later.
Moments like that remind me how fortunate I am to be connected to a place I fell in love with as a child. To a building that has been loved by so many people before us.
And to the people whose lives briefly intersect here…whether it’s once a year, every now and then, or every single week.
On to summer…with gratitude for the reminders May left behind. ☀️
